Saylorsburg care-giver accused of binging on stolen $90K

Friday

Jun 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM

A Saylorsburg woman, charged with stealing $90,000 from an 82-year-old woman she was hired to care for, allegedly went on a buying binge that ranged from beer to five "Sons of Anarchy" sweatshirts, according to court records.

ANDREW SCOTT

A Saylorsburg woman, charged with stealing $90,000 from an 82-year-old woman she was hired to care for, allegedly went on a buying binge that ranged from beer to five "Sons of Anarchy" sweatshirts, according to court records.

Jeanette Strausser, 43, remained in Monroe County Correctional Facility in lieu of $40,000 bail as of Thursday. She is charged with theft, identity theft, receiving stolen property, using another's bank card without authorization and 35 counts of forgery.

Police found Strausser had forged the victim's signature on receipts of purchases for more than 40 cases of beer in a 234-day period, a $498.18 Asus 16-gigabyte tablet, four Polaroid 4.0 seven-inch tablets, a $432 15-foot rug and other items the victim doesn't have in her home, according to court records.

Other purchases included five "Sons of Anarchy" sweatshirts shipped to Strausser's address, a prepaid wireless phone, movies, clothes and maintenance items for a pool.

Police noted a pool at Strausser's home, but no pool at the victim's.

A state police affidavit gives the following account:

Teresa Webb lived with the 82-year-old Swiftwater victim.

After Webb died, Strausser, a home health aide for state-licensed BrightStar Care in Stroudsburg, was assigned to care for the victim, who is physically and mentally incapacitated.

"The agency conducts background checks on all of its employees, and these checks are thorough to the point of exceeding state standards," said BrightStar Care spokeswoman Debra Vilchis. "Such checks were conducted on Ms. Strausser prior to her employment, and she cleared all of them."

On Sept. 22, Strausser was suspended from BrightStar Care, pending a Department of Aging investigation, for accepting private pay for additional services with the victim and not reporting changes in the victim's behavior.

Signed by Strausser, the BrightStar Care employment handbook forbids employees from requesting or accepting consumer loans or material gifts from clients, assuming power of attorney or guardianship of clients, soliciting from clients or accepting cash or the client's ATM card without proper authority and approval from the employer.

Debbie Woo, protective services investigator for the Monroe County Area Agency on Aging, found evidence of financial exploitation, and a recommendation of financial guardianship was offered.

On Oct. 24, attorney Jennifer Wise, the executor for Webb's estate, petitioned on Webb's brother's behalf to have the victim deemed an incapacitated person unable to handle her own personal finances.

On Oct. 29, Wise notified police that a total of $120,000 had been depleted from the victim's PNC Bank account from January 2012 to almost September. Of the amount depleted, $30,000 was accounted for "through living expenses and financial considerations after Webb's death," while the remaining $90,000 was not located, Wise said.

Wise was concerned Strausser was deceiving the victim and siphoning the victim's funds.

When interviewed Nov. 23, Strausser told police she had taken a $2,800 loan from the victim to help her get an attorney, and had suggested the victim give her an extra $60 or $80 a week for food, gas and personal items.

Strausser said the victim had bought clothes, music and movies for her and her children, and given her lunch money several times per week.

On Nov. 29, Monroe County Court ruled there was "clear and convincing evidence" of the victim being totally incapacitated, and appointed Webb's brother as her plenary guardian.

On March 26, police contacted Chandra Lou Nedersotek, who at that time was the BrightStar Care employee assigned to the victim. Nedersotek told police she retained and documented the victim's purchases in a notebook and that the victim needed a stipend of only $150 a week to survive on.

Police found Strausser had forged the victim's signature on receipts of various purchases.

A preliminary hearing was continued from Thursday to June 20. Magisterial District Judge John Whitesell, who covers Paradise Township, where the alleged crimes occurred, continued the hearing because Strausser did not yet have an attorney.